"Unpaid Overtime Pay Dispute" Former and Current Police Officers Lose Lawsuit Against the State

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Jo] Current and former police officers filed a lawsuit against the state demanding "unpaid overtime allowances," but they lost the case.

According to the legal community on the 14th, the Seoul Administrative Court, Administrative Division 14 (Chief Judge Sanghoon Lee) ruled against the plaintiffs in a wage claim lawsuit filed by 57 individuals including Mr. A against the government. The court stated, "Based solely on the evidence submitted by the plaintiffs, it is difficult to recognize that they worked overtime beyond the allowances already received," and added, "The allowance regulations are not unreasonable, nor do they exceed the scope delegated by higher laws."

Previously, Mr. A and others worked as field public officials at police stations or district units from June 2009 to May 2012. Field public officials refer to civil servants who must maintain a constant duty system due to the nature of their work. Unlike general public officials, overtime work is institutionalized for them.

However, starting in 2010, the government changed guidelines by dividing overtime, night, and holiday work allowances and, unlike general public officials, removed the maximum recognized hours (67 hours) for field public officials and restricted overlapping payments. In response, Mr. A and others filed a lawsuit demanding 5 million KRW each for unpaid allowances, claiming the overtime allowance payment system was unfair.

In the lawsuit, Mr. A and others argued that if they worked overtime during holidays, they should receive additional overtime allowances beyond holiday work allowances, and that break times should be included in working hours since they were under the command and supervision of their commanders. However, the court judged their claims as "unfounded" and did not accept any of them.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.